Page 128 of Pucking the Enemy

I nodded gratefully at him. I hadn’t even been thinking about that.

“I haven’t packed anything!” I whined. “The outfit I wanted to bring Peanut home in is in the top drawer of the nursery dresser. It’s got a matching hat and mittens!”

“I’ll grab them while Phillip helps you get dressed. Is that okay, Duchess?”

I nodded.

“We need to get you to the hospital. Now!” Cormac repeated.

I turned my head to him, a snarl on my face. “Oh, really? I was considering having a cup of tea and relaxing in bed!” I growled.

“Sweetness?”

All my guys appeared shocked, and I took a deep breath. “I can feel all you guys freaking out, and that’s freaking me out! Stop it!” I shouted.

“But you’re having a baby! That’s freak-out worthy,” Seb said.

“No freak-outs!” I growled as I clutched my belly.

“A little freaking out is okay, surely?” Cormac asked.

“I think we all need to stop saying the words freak out,” Phillip suggested. “They’re starting to lose all meaning.”

“Thank you!” I glanced between the guys. “Listen to the voice of reason. Now, Phillip, please help me get into some comfortable clothes. Seb! Grab the birthing gown I bought. It’s in the closet!”

Phillip helped me dress in a pair of stretchy sweatpants and a matching sweater.

“Do you want a bra?” Phillip asked.

I shook my head. “I’m uncomfortable enough as it is,” I grumbled.

“Well, look on the bright side—this’ll all be over in the next few hours.”

“Which one of you fucking assholes said this would be over in a few hours?” I snarled at my alphas.

It had been twenty-four hours since we left to go to the hospital, and there was no baby yet. Instead, all there had been was pain, discomfort, and a hell of a lot of contractions.

“You’re eight centimeters dilated, so it shouldn’t be too long,” Phillip reassured me, lightly rubbing my back, ignoring my anger.

It had been over an hour since the nurse last checked me. I was sitting on the hospital bed, as I had been for an eternity, waiting for my labor to progress.

“We should talk about something else to distract you. Maybe names?” Cormac asked.

“If you suggest our child should be named Bilbo again, I will throttle you,” I hissed. Cormac had some… unique name ideas.

He winced. “Okay, let’s not talk about names.”

Seb sat on the bed behind me, his hands massaging my lower back. Groaning, I leaned into his touch. His face was drawn, which wasn’t surprising, since they were all feeling my pain somewhat through the bond.

“When is the nurse going to check me again? These are getting worse,” I moaned through another contraction.

“I’ll go get her!” Roman said, jumping out of the chair, happy to have something to do.

The guys had been hovering around me, trying to be useful, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much they could do until the baby arrived. They had been reduced to giving back rubs and fetching snacks.

“I have ten bucks on him vomiting. We all know Roman can’t handle pain.” Cormac laughed.

Phillip pursed his lips, holding back a laugh. “I’ll take that bet.”

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